Marco Polo?

The Hen and Chickens Theatre 17th November - 1st December 2014

RUSTICHELLO: Europe had not known the East itself but only its products – spices,

silk and tales of the Tartars. The East was monstrous races – one legged Sciopods

who used their foot as a parasol, Blemmyai with faces in their chests, the Panotii who

slept in their giant ears. Did you see them?

MARCO POLO: No, bollocks all of it. I saw maybe one unicorn. One.

Rough Haired Pointer return to The Hen and Chickens with Marco Polo? a new

play by Matt Osman. The legendary explorer Marco Polo is famous for

introducing the concept of the East to Europe. At the start of Osman’s play he is

languishing in prison, captured in a sea battle, when a new cellmate is

introduced, Romance writer Rustichello. Together they contrive to record the

details of Marco’s travels with the help of two Spanish prisoners before Marco’s

memories are consumed by Alzheimer’s. In this new farce Osman presents an

explosion of memory, colour, place and character. Four actors take an audience

on a journey through Europe and Asia to the court of Kublai Khan and back to

Venice again.

Matt Osman’s previous work includes The Boy Who Cried which premiered at

The Hope Theatre in March 2014 and then transferred to The Tabard.

Rough Haired Pointer’s past work includes the World Premiere of Joe Orton’s

Fred & Madge (The Hope Theatre), The Diary Of A Nobody by George and Weedon

Grossmith (White Bear and King’s Head Theatres), The Boy Who Cried by Matt

Osman (The Hope & Tabard Theatres) and The Young Visiters by Daisy Ashford

(The Hen and Chickens).

For the first time Rough Haired Pointer allow an audience to observe their

rehearsal process. Marco Polo? will be both developed and presented over a

period of 3 weeks: the weeks in between performances are used by the company

to further develop the work, learning from the rehearsals, audience engagement

and feedback.

Praise for Rough Haired Pointer’s previous productions:

The Stage ‘An admirably bold company’

The Telegraph ‘Audacious…violently original’

The Times ‘Great fun.’

Exeunt ‘Rough Haired Pointer are rapidly establishing themselves as one of the most inventive and entertaining new theatre companies out there.’

What’s On Stage 'I saw enough to know that Rough Haired Pointer…might yet develop into a potent force on the fringe.'

PostScript Journal ‘RHP's calling-card is a sort of studied ramshackle quality, a tumbledown charm. They are rough around the edges in the most knowing and sophisticated way possible, and elevate the idea of play to something of an art form.’

Islington Gazette ‘There are positively no holds barred with this insane and thoroughly entertaining group of players.’

Grumpy Gay Critic ‘This is a company with an imagination and energy that results in incredibly slick and daring theatre.’

London City Nights ‘a Pythonesque tinge, a group of men who know precisely how best to deploy their various personalities and physiques in the service of comedy…an insanely talented group of individuals, all of whom click together on stage like clockwork.’

RemoteGoat ‘Some may see a small theatre and see limitations, but Rough Haired Pointer see limitless opportunities.’